Sendhil Ramamurthy Quotes

I love Jet Li, but he looks very Chinese, and his English is Chinese-accented. He wouldn't have been the right guy to play a Japanese-American.

I don't think people realize what it's like for people of color to audition for film and TV.

People obsess about casting and representation, but really, all the real work is behind the camera. Casting an Asian American into a bad role where they're shoehorned into these stereotypes is worse than not having cast them at all.

I also have a film coming up called Breaking Up, and my part in that was not written for a Latina, and my character is not particularly pretty or sexy or exotic.

Alex, who I play on 'Quantico' - that part wasn't written for an Indian girl. So they changed her background to make her half Indian and half Caucasian.

A black actor is perfect for 'Kojak.'

I was always asked to play roles where I was the contrasting or multicultural character. Sometimes that worked for me - often it didn't.

Being a Filipino actor in Hollywood, the most frustrating part of landing roles in Hollywood is definitely the limited roles available and the lack of diversity.

What if Macauley Culkin were black in 'Home Alone?' Most people would write it differently... but I would write it the same way.

I'm not sure if it's just my pride, but I think I was able to bring out a different vibe as a Korean in Hollywood where there are many Korean Americans.

If a filmmaker is making a movie about a nice Midwestern family or a story that needs a very white character or a black or a Chinese, then I don't expect to go up for it. But I know, especially in places like New York, there's no excuse not to see various colors.

I was shocked that I even got the opportunity to audition for 'A Wrinkle in Time.' Meg Murry is a Caucasian girl in the book.

I've shied away from playing Asian characters. if you look back, I'm playing characters that have no relevance to my ethnicity.

I don't want to put on any gimmicky layers just to give the character more definition. I just want to play good characters. It doesn't matter to me if it's 'open ethnicity' or 'specifically Asian.'

When I see other working actresses that are brown, I get so excited. I get so excited when I see Zoe Kravitz, Janelle Monae, Taraji P. Henson, Ava Duvernay, and all these beautiful women working.

When I was growing up, all these superheroes were white. On some level, you put that out of your mind... but as you get older, you realize it's a very one-sided affair. So I'm very glad to see that these movies are becoming more diversified.

I've stayed away from doing 'urban film' because I just don't relate to the characters. I'm not going to take a role because I happen to have the same skin color.

Iris is the Lois Lane of 'The Flash.' It's a really special role. Knowing they were willing to offer it to an African American - Iris is traditionally white - I knew how important this would be for so many people.

For a while, I was feeling like I was always playing characters that weren't specifically Korean or specifically Asian, even - that they were characters who were originally written white, and then they would cast me. And I used to consider that a badge of honor because that meant I had avoided stereotypes.

For me, whenever I would see a lot of 'black films,' I didn't feel represented in it. I didn't feel connected to the characters or the situations or the humor.

Hollywood, they make up these Latinos because they have a certain physical type or a certain name or whatever... It's not that easy. It's like me wanting to do a movie with an American actor, and I say, 'Hey listen, I have either Johnny Depp or Carrot Top.'

I've been very lucky to have played a variety of characters, and they weren't defined by their race.

I'm black, yeah, but I'm just an actor, so everything I do doesn't have to be color-specific or specific to history. But I got to a point where a lot of people wanted to offer me period pieces, like that's the only thing I could do.

It's not just about casting female protagonists. It's gotta be across the board throughout the industry.

Point-blank, there is not enough diversity in media.